


Houndstooth

by ephemeralDELUSiON



Category: Persona 5
Genre: (Spoilers Up Until 12/18), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Implied/Referenced Violence, Indeterminate Relationship, Light Angst, M/M, One Shot, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-02
Updated: 2017-06-02
Packaged: 2018-11-08 01:00:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,071
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11070759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ephemeralDELUSiON/pseuds/ephemeralDELUSiON
Summary: Goro made many mistakes during his investigation of the Phantom Thieves, and Akira took it upon himself to tell him just what those mistakes were before his friends got hurt. Despite everything, their black and white relationship had still been woven, even if each check mark was broken along the way.





	Houndstooth

**Author's Note:**

> happy birthday akechi. :^)  
> (it's his birthday somewhere in the world.) 
> 
> various disclaimers:  
> \-- this fic is unbeta'd.  
> \-- i am 100% not a writer lol.  
> \-- there is rapid af pov switching for each "section".  
> \-- there is use of japanese titles (tantei-san/meitantei-san aka mr. detective and mr. great detective) and honourifics since i played the game in japanese and wanted the subtlety lol. 
> 
> have fun, folks.

* * *

  


Akechi Goro was not a man of hesitation. He was a man of action, of quick wit and cunning, of immediate reactions to almost any given opportunity. So he found it completely foreign to be in a situation where his words were failing him, the tightness in his throat placing each breath in a vice.  
  
“Kurusu… Akira…” He spat towards a pair of gunmetal eyes, eyes accompanied by a smirk matching in sharpness.  
  
“Did you really think I wouldn’t notice?” The black haired boy in front of him responded airily, leaning closer to him than the detective would have liked. The cold of the metal around his wrists pressed deeper into his skin as his back pushed further into the dark, veiny wall behind him. He took another rickety breath, but he didn’t say a word.  
  
“Two can play at this game, _meitantei-san_.” Came a reply to the silence, the black clad boy straightening himself out after a moment of lingering over him. A pair of mahogany eyes mustered all that they could: the embers of a glare, and the echo of wordless breathing.  
  
Just how did things turn out like this? Trembling unbeknownst even to himself, his thoughts flashed by, and he was engulfed by a hazy memory…

* * *

  
Kurusu Akira’s eyes never left the stage while the detective prince stood upon it. For some bizarre reason his gaze stayed glued upon the rising star’s figure, and Akira could not understand why. Maybe it had something to do with the immense aura and ridiculous charisma of the boy on stage, or maybe it had to do with the enigmatic smile that for some reason he found particularly irritating. Either way, it felt as if Akira had met the other’s gaze more times than he considered normal, and he wasn’t sure if it was his fault for staring in the first place or the prince’s fault for… well, whatever he was at fault for.  
  
After the ninth or so intersection of their respective gazes, the dark haired boy was sure something was up. He was starting to believe their exchange of looks was the reason why he was chosen to speak up by the host on set, so in his controlled, collected annoyance, he couldn’t help but to frankly defy the opinion of the star on stage. Unsurprisingly, the bold interaction only made matters worse, the detective seemingly refusing to relent his gaze from that moment on. Even once he and his friends left the studio, the afterimage of Akechi Goro’s eyes still lingered. There was just something about the way he looked at him, but he did not yet have the words to describe what that something might have even been.

* * *

  
“That was your first mistake.” His white masked opponent started, an almost haughty air about him. “The TV studio. You slipped up on something major – letting us know that you could hear Morgana talk.”  
  
Inky eyes looking back down at the detective once again, the boy in the dark coat continued while pacing from side to side. “I’m sure it was just a stupid, honest mistake, but you were in deep water from that point forward. Someone as smart as you, as resourceful as you, with a secret connection to the Metaverse but feigning ignorance to the Phantom Thieves’ methods? Talk about suspicious. That alone could have been damning evidence against you, you know.” Finishing with a final emphatic gesture, his accuser’s arm fell to his side as he turned back and faced him.  
  
Mocking him with the way his black coat swished about while Goro was stuck immobile, pressed up against the wall… did Kurusu have nothing better to do than deride him like this? He had gotten what he wanted in capturing him, hadn’t he? Did he really need to go through this exposé?  
  
Goro clenched his teeth, and his eyes burrowed into the ground. He didn’t want to deal with this. He didn’t want to take part in any of this.

* * *

  
The first time Akechi Goro tapped Akira on the shoulder in the subway, Akira’s heart nearly fell out of his chest. Sure, his calm exterior may not have displayed much by means of a reaction, but when it came to emotional range of feeling, his covers certainly betrayed his pages. Why a celebrity would be approaching a nondescript kid like himself was beyond him, even if the detective had said he wished to remain in touch. He had honestly taken the response with a grain of salt; after all, it did just seem to be the polite thing to say… but it was weird nonetheless.  
  
“... Ah, _tantei-san?_ ” Akira uttered, looking back at the sandy haired man with well concealed surprise.  
  
“My, you’re not even going to call me by name? Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten it already?” Akechi responded with a small giggle, a gentle smile upon his face. Although his lips boasted a smile, his eyes did not quite seem to boast the same.  
  
“... Akechi-kun, then.” A flat, curt response, almost bordering on rude. Akechi’s smile didn’t waver.  
  
“I’m just kidding, you know. Call me whatever you wish. Kurusu-kun, yes? What a coincidence that we are at the same station like this.” He continued, his clothes perfectly pressed and the air around him stagnant. Something was so… off about him. How could he seem so grating and misfit despite having such a soft, humble demeanour?  
  
After a good moment of Akechi offering pleasantries rather one-sidedly and Akira simply nodding along, the eastbound train arrived and the two began to board their separate ways. As the crowd between them began to fill, Akechi waved and gave a final, disproportionately cheery “I hope to run into you again soon!” while he was still within Akira’s line of sight. As a sort of spontaneous act of goodwill, Akira returned the gesture with a surprisingly genuine sounding “I hope you do too.”  
  
The prolonged pause in Akechi’s step and the way his mouth gaped for just a moment was hard to miss even with the bustling group around them. Once the other had disappeared from view, Akira was left with only his thoughts, and the dull roar of a thousand murmuring voices. Akira’s brow creased as he stepped aboard the train, wondering just what sort of meaning the break in his step held for the detective prince.

* * *

  
“Your second mistake? Tailing me in the subway. It stops becoming coincidence when you can start to see a pattern, you know. But you wanted to crack your case so bad that you couldn’t help but keep pushing for information, huh?” That infuriating white mask kept Joker’s face hidden, and only helped to emphasise the echo of his voice in the adjacent empty subway tunnels. Grinding his teeth, Goro refused to break eye contact, if only for the sake of his pride.  
  
“If you really wanted to keep it as coincidental, you wouldn’t have met me as often as you did… that, or you wouldn’t have pressed constantly about the Phantom Thieves, and just relied upon school schedules as your alibi. But that wasn’t really a concern for you, was it? It didn’t matter if I was suspicious if I couldn’t prove anything, right? …You probably even thought it worked in your favour for me to think you were onto my identity, didn't you.” Hands in his pockets, the black clad boy stood tall. That tone of his… hearing it was like crunching glass between teeth, or chewing nails mixed in concrete. The more the other spoke, the more agitated Goro felt. Who gave him the right to act as if he knew it all? He knew _nothing!_  
  
“That’s probably why you thought you were so secure in your next moves, am I wrong?” Joker finished, gaze still caught on his own. Infuriating mask, infuriating face, infuriating eyes… all Goro could taste was the bitterness of his own agitation, drowning in the silent anger filling his throat.

* * *

  
Bitter. 

  
That’s what Akira expected as a response from all the youth who tried the coffee in Leblanc, but of course Akechi was to prove himself an exception.  
  
“It had a surprisingly mild flavour profile… and the aroma was rather fruity. It was lovely! Thank you for the drink.” Akechi chirped, looking rather pleased as he pushed his empty cup and saucer back towards the barista’s end of the bar table. Unfortunately for Akira, it was hard for him to share in that pleasure, for he was just as apprehensive about the detective as ever.  
  
“Huh. You’re pretty sharp, for a kid. Oi, make him another cup, with the beans over there. Let’s see if he really knows his stuff.” Sojirou practically barked, waving his hand towards Akira and a jar of beans without so much as a glance beside him. While Akira was used to Sojirou’s rather callous behaviour, the fact he was inviting Akechi of all people to stay was what caused the edges of his lips to turn a pinch downwards.  
  
“Oh no, I couldn’t stay longer. I wouldn’t want to keep Kurusu-kun from his studies, and I would hate to otherwise loiter.” Akechi declined, shaking his head politely. Almost immediately afterwards Akira found his eyes locked with the boy in the tan jacket, face to face with what he could swear to be an apologetic smile.  
  
“...If you want to stay, I wouldn’t mind making another cup.” Akira then conceded, practically mumbling, pulling at the tips of his bangs. It wasn’t entirely a lie, and more business for Sojirou was good in his books. If it could help him practice making coffee a bit more as well, then Akira could only see him staying as making some sort of net profit.  
  
“Do you really mean that?” Akechi said with a surprising amount of power in his voice. His eyes, once again, were wide, and his mouth slightly agape… just like the time at the subway. But before Akira could observe further, the detective’s face had returned to the usual smile, as if the previous expression had never happened at all. “But it is getting late, and drinking more coffee at this time isn’t the best of ideas… so I suppose I will get going, but I can assure you I’ll be back soon.”  
  
Standing up and fixing his lapels, Akechi nodded towards both Akira and Soujirou before speaking once again. “Thank you again for the coffee. I hope to see you later.” Turning rather abruptly, the clack of his heels and the ringing of the bell marked his exit from the building.  
  
“Sheesh. Didn’t know you two knew each other. Are you friends?” Soujirou asked from behind him, Akira’s eyes still caught on the glass panes of the cafe door.  
  
“...Not quite.” He admitted blandly, keeping still as his eyes remained on the window facing out to the street.  
  
“...Well, maybe you should be. He seems to like you, and hey, it would be good for you to get more decent-looking friends. Not often a good-lookin’ kid like that comes around the bend, and it ain’t like he has a reason to be all suspicious of you if he doesn’t know about your past. Could be a good opportunity.” Soujirou scratched the side of his neck, nonchalant.  
  
“...I guess.”

* * *

  
The only movement the Phantom leader made now was in the tapping of his shoe against the hard, concrete floor. “Maybe you didn’t realise, but that was your third mistake. Visiting Leblanc after your popularity crashed… calling it the only place you felt welcome. With all of Tokyo in your pocket, even if your popularity was at rock bottom, as _if_ some backwater cafe with the grumpy old barista was your only sanctuary.”  
  
Joker’s voice sounded almost as harsh as that old man’s… Sakura Sojirou. Guess after living together he really did start to rub off on the highschooler.  
  
“If you thought you could garner sympathy from me by sharing your sob story day after day, you were clearly blind.” The thief finished, before being sharply cut off.  
  
“That's _not_ what I was doing…!” The shriek of metal on metal echoed throughout the tunnel as the chain keeping his wrists tied screeched against the bar behind him, but the harsh sound was met with a mellow laugh from the thief before him. There was no way he wasn’t mocking him now, that bastard…! He wasn’t going to stand for this.  
  
“Now now, I’m not done talking. It’s rude to interrupt, _meitantei-san_.” Twirling a red venetian mask in one hand, the bastard’s foot continued tapping, as Goro was offered a pointed, cautionary glance.  
  
“Now, onto the next mistake…”

* * *

  
“Oh god, this was definitely a mistake.” Ryuji groaned, as he, Ann, Yusuke and Akira made their way towards the faculty office for the recess during Akechi’s talk panel. “That guy callin’ us over… there’s no way we ain’t in shit now.”  
  
“Now, we do not know this for certain. Let us retain hope and walk with its light like the warrior to his fated battle.”  
  
“Guys, seriously? Yusuke, now’s not the time for weird analogies. And Ryuji, stop groaning! I’m already panicked, and you’re not helping.”  
  
“Tch, oi, you’re not the only one whose panicked, Takamaki!”  
  
“...Guys.” Akira said curtly, finally breaking the bickering between his friends. His single utterance was to inform them all that they were nearing the office, and that he needed them all to enter looking normal. Calming on cue, the group of them pushed open the door with not so much as a word. Once they did enter, Makoto, Haru and Akechi’s faces all met their own, sporting similar solemn expressions.  
  
“So, what would you like to talk about?” Makoto started once the group had settled, facing Akechi head on with her shoulders squared to his. Within moments, Akechi had pulled out photographs of the Phantom Thieves, and then began bombarding all present with questions and his understanding of the Metaverse.  
  
His face was not painted into his usual pretty little smile, but was instead rather serious, almost tired. It was a new expression, one Akira had never seen before. Despite the seriousness of the situation, he almost felt more relaxed around this Akechi, more than any of the other masks of Akechi he had seen prior.  
  
“This guy has a Persona?!” Morgana squeaked after looking right at Akechi, eyes wide like dinner plates.  
  
“That cat… I swear it just spoke.” Came the seemingly surprised response from the sandy haired boy. Wait… he was surprised by Morgana? But…  
  
Akira, at this point, began filtering out everything save for Akechi. His voice, his face, the way he moved and the expressions he made. This time, it wasn’t that Akechi himself felt out of place for the situation… no, not like the way he felt almost every other interaction... but rather that this behaviour was unbecoming of Akechi.  
  
How could he seem so genuine right now, yet…  
  
When Akechi’s eyes met with his once again, it almost felt as if it would be painful to pull away. Something was wrong with this. The last, sullen smile Akechi offered him before he left the office…  
  
He didn’t like it.

* * *

  
“You confirmed everything when you visited us at the school festival. The way you acted with Morgana… everything I had believed before, I had full faith in then.” Joker declared before growing silent. Hey… why was he looking at him like that. Was that… pity? No, no, _no_ –  
  
Gurgling in frustration, he didn’t dare speak out again. Goro knew that it would be a stupid move, especially considering what Joker did the last time he made that mistake, just before he ended up chained against this wall. The hands against his throat – Joker was stupidly, idiotically serious about this.  
  
With his mask in the other’s hand, there wasn’t much he could do in this state. No way to use any power against him… and no way to call for help in this godforsaken abyss of a place. Not as if anyone would come for him, but even then, there was no harm in wishing for a swift, merciful end rather than… whatever was likely waiting for him by Joker’s hand.  
  
Flakes of dried blood fluttered off of his forehead as his chest heaved, silent.  
  
“But it worked better to make you think you still had the upper hand. After all, it makes working around things all just that much easier, doesn’t it, _meitantei-san?_ ” The black haired boy’s voice sounded derisive, but nothing about the sullen expression upon his face said the same. What was wrong with him – was wearing one mask not enough? He was planning on torturing him like this too, by making his feelings unreadable and confusing? He couldn’t get the sight of what he assumed to be pity out of his periphery, and all he wanted was for it to go away. He wasn’t going to be looked down upon like this. Not anymore.  
  
“You were ignorant to it all, and you didn’t even know it.” Came an uncharacteristically soft voice from his captor, and with it Goro’s eyes squeezed shut.

* * *

  
As the meeting in Leblanc came to a close, Akira’s eyes came to rest upon the straggling Akechi, who was still picking up his briefcase near the edge of his bed while the others had already made their way downstairs.  
  
“I’m amazed you can hear with how far back from us you stand.” Akira began, initiating a conversation with Akechi. If he was going to be a teammate, even if only for a short while, there was no point in being anything but amicable.  
  
Akechi, straightening up at Akira’s voice, turned to face him once his briefcase was in hand. “Ahhh, it’s nothing personal, I promise: I am just used to observing from afar, that’s all.” He laughed, but its disguise was weak. It wasn’t the laugh of an impervious actor, but rather a feeble, worried boy. Akira wasn’t going to have it today.  
  
“We don’t bite, you know. We aren’t here just as teammates… but also as friends.” Shifting his weight, Akira’s hands slipped into his pockets, and his eyes met with a bewildered mahogany stare.  
  
“I-I, uh – ahaha, sorry, it’s been quite a while since someone’s been so blunt with me. The last time was…” Akechi’s eyes broke from his own, and fell straight to the ground. “...Well… with you, I suppose.”  
  
A silence rose between the two, and tension was thick. His face… was reddening, wasn’t it? That was…  
  
“I really… must get going. I will… put in an effort to not be so distant, next time. I will see you later, Kurusu-kun.” Pushing politely past, Akechi blustered out of the room, shoes haphazardly thrown on at the bedroom door, his gaze tethered to the floor.  
  
The quick clack of his shoes against the wooden steps echoed throughout the stairwell, and Akira found himself twisting a few locks of hair around his finger. Within moments, the chime of the visitor bell rang, and the cafe door slipped shut. Impressive. He must have practically ran.  
  
Letting loose a light sigh, Akira was unsure what to do. Maybe he was letting this get out of hand…

* * *

  
“You dug yourself deeper into your little hole after each meeting at Leblanc. At the end of the day, you had no intention of becoming close to us… even the least astute of us could tell. It made no sense for someone like yourself to not want to know even the most mundane bits of our lives. In search for the truth… you avoided the truth. That doesn’t make sense, _meitantei-sa–_ ”  
  
“Stop… _calling me_ _that…_ ” Goro wheezed through clenched teeth. He couldn’t take it. It was infuriating. He knew he was inferior, he knew Kurusu was better. He knew it! He didn’t need to keep rubbing it in. He had him, he won. Wasn’t that fucking _enough?_  
  
“...Akechi-kun, then.” Joker relinquished after a pause, tone like a splash from a distant memory. Not even trying to protect his identity either? Haha… of course. Why would it even matter at this point? He coughed, eyes screwed shut… and Joker oh-so-patiently waited for his breath to level before he continued.  
  
“What was the point if you weren’t going to even play along? A detective keeping an unusual distance… it sounds like a fear of attachment, if anything. Now… why would a detective fear getting attached to his target, hm? There are only so many answers, none of them all that appealing for your case.”  
  
“... Like you…” Goro began, feeling a brash lack of care for his own well-being take hold of him. “... Like you could _ever_ understand how I felt about anything. Don’t...” He coughed, “... Don’t act like you know me.”  
  
Voice hoarse, he mustered yet another dull, enkindled glare towards the thief. The fact he couldn’t tell what the other was thinking only fuelled the sear of his gaze.  
  
“... I’m not pretending, Akechi-kun. I know that I don’t know you. Wasn’t that my exact point? None of us knew the real you… and that was a problem.” The black haired boy spun the red mask on his finger once more.  
  
Scoff turning into a cough, Goro fell silent. He really didn’t know what he wanted from this exchange anymore. To fight him, to fall still, he just didn’t know, and was very rapidly starting to believe none of it mattered either way.  
  
“... Just get on with it.” He croaked, failing to maintain eye contact with the thief. However, Joker was not going to let him get off with looking away, it seemed. Kneeling down on one knee, repulsive red gloved fingers found their way under Goro’s chin, tilting both his head as well as his gaze back to where the other wanted it.  
  
“Not before I tell you your last mistake.”

* * *

  
“No need to worry, I’ll handle this. I need to prove myself worthy to you, after all.” Akechi – Crow, rather – stood within the semicircle formed by his teammates, eyes torn between Joker and the Shadow looming before him.  
  
“...I have high expectations.” Akira – or more appropriately Joker – quipped in response. Honestly, he did have rather high expectations. With the level of competency the detective seemed to boast, and the various other factors seemingly influencing him, it made no sense for him to perform poorly.  
  
“I’ll make sure to surpass even the loftiest of those expectations.” Crow offered in return, the slightest of smiles gracing his lips. Huh… he almost seemed excited. Did he really like to show off that much? Joker felt a smirk of his own pulling at his the corners of his mouth.  
  
“Shall we begin? Don’t worry, you can trust me with this.” Crow reassured, fingers brushing against his mask. The familiar waves of blue light erupted from him, and Crow called out his Persona’s name… Robin Hood. As the never-before-seen entity appeared, Joker couldn’t help but be taken by the two of them. So that’s the mask he wore for the public, then… how interesting.  
  
The fight ended almost as swiftly as it began. Eyes locked onto Crow the entire time, he saw just how strong the boy really was. Completely comfortable in his control with his Persona, for one… passionate, even. The smile on the white clad boy’s face seemed to only get wider throughout the battle. He looked like he was having fun.  
  
Joker smiled, too.  
  
After the battle had ended, the group made the decision to go home. They began their quick getaway for the exit, and arrived in only a matter of minutes.  
  
“Didn’t know you could raise your voice that loud.” Joker commented after the rest of the crew had already made their way through the palace exit, placing a hand on Crows’s shoulder. Presumably startled, he jumped slightly, before turning his face towards the other.  
  
“Hey, I am a growing boy, you know.” Chuckling lightly as soon as he regained composure, Joker saw what he believed to be the first real, genuine smile from the detective-turned-thief.  
  
“...I didn't know you had it in you to joke. Colour me impressed.” Joker then joshed in return, nodding with approval and removing his hand from the other's back.  
  
“I told you I’d surpass even your loftiest expectations, didn’t I?” Smile verging on grin, an errant hand found its way to partially obscure Crow’s mouth, clearly a trained response for humility’s sake.  
  
“Hey,” reaching forward, Joker took Crow’s hand, gently pulling it away. “...Don’t hide it,” he breathed, voice considerably more dulcet than he intended. Almost immediately in response, Crow’s cheeks were visibly sizzling.  
  
Stuttering, the detective stared wide eyed at his colleague, before he pulled his hand out of the other’s red grip with a snap. Spinning around at mach speed, a flustered, mumbled counter tumbled out of the red mask wearer.  
  
“We should – we should really get going now, the others are expecting us.” Taking a few steps before fading transparent, he left Joker without a second glance.  
  
Running a gloved hand over his face, Joker let out a deep sigh. He definitely let this get out of hand.

* * *

  
Goro’s chin was finally released, and his opponent took a step back, coattails fluttering.  
  
“Your last mistake… hmm, can you guess what it was?”  
  
“... Didn’t you just say _you_ were going to tell _me_ , Kurusu?” The captive spat back, disgruntled and not looking to play along. “Make up your mind.”  
  
“I want to hear it from your own mouth,” he replied blandly, “what you think your biggest mistake was.”  
  
Weak glare trained upon the bastard, Goro wished that he wasn’t so easily baited by the other. All of him screamed to not give Kurusu what he wanted, but he found his mouth moving despite it all.  
  
Screw Kurusu. _Screw him._  
  
“Fine. I’ll play your little game! The palace, right? I assume that’s where you were headed with all of this.” Goro’s tongue clicked in his mouth, making sure the other knew that he was beyond annoyed. He was starting to care less and less about being hurt again – he was starting to care less and less about everything.  
  
“Certainly wasn’t my puzzle solving... that would simply mean me living up to my title as detective. Not my cooperation, for that was essential to having our agreement work out. I can only assume it was my ability to wield my persona with such finesse, right? Not something an inexperienced rookie would likely be able to do… was _that_ the nail in the coffin?”  
  
Unmoving, the thief continued looking down at Goro blankly. … He couldn’t have been wrong. After all, there wasn’t anything else his target had seen from him. He had taken utmost precaution so as to not let anything slip–  
  
“Haha… hahaha!” A loud, but broken laugh rang out from the boy in front of him. Why was he laughing…? Was it pity again…!? He wasn’t wrong, he couldn’t have been! So why–!?  
  
Gritting his teeth with force enough to break, Goro’s forceless glare grew to one of hot-white rage. If only he could grab his mask, if only he could get out of his bindings, if only if only if _onl–_  
  
“...Your final mistake, Akechi-kun.” Kurusu paused, clicking a heel to the ground for emphasis. “It wasn’t anything so superficial.”  
  
“ _Then what was it!?_ ” Goro roared in pure frustration, metal screeching against metal once again as the boy thrust himself forward in spontaneous fury. Damn him, damn him, _damn him!_  
  
Red-gloved palm reaching into his pocket, a gun was slowly procured from the long black jacket, dimly silhouetted in the eerie glow of the subway depths. The click of the safety resounded, and it was then that the other spoke the words that cleaved through his chest.  
  
“...It was falling for me.”  
  
Like shattering glass, the anger, the _fury_ fell from Goro in an instant, pieces skipping across the floor. His expression sunk into one of shock, of panic, of alarm. A thousand bells could have chimed in his ears that moment, but nothing would have been more deafening than the frigid silence he found himself drawing upon.  
  
What?  
  
What did Kurusu mean by –  
  
_Falling for him?_  
  
His jaw fell.  
  
“ _No–_ ”  
  
“Not _‘no’_ , Akechi-kun,” came the quick, knife-edged interjection. Hurried, weighted words tumbled from Kurusu soon after. “From the moment we met you had your eye on me. Not because I was a suspect, but because I had wormed my way into your heart from the very beginning. Not that I did anything to you, though… you let yourself be taken without me so much as lifting a finger.” His tone was flat by the time he finished speaking, unfeeling.  
  
How… but there wasn’t any… he couldn’t have…  
  
Each time his heart had skipped a beat thinking of the black-haired boy, it was from excitement for his upcoming plan to capture the Phantom Thieves, not because of–  
  
“Could you really not see it? The way you looked at me. Everyone knew.”  
  
Goro’s chest was tight. Yes, he had hesitated to act initially, but that was because he needed his plan to be perfect for Shido-san… not because of–  
  
“I felt bad. I really wanted to like you, too.”  
  
The way he felt regret for the masquerade with the Phantom Thieves coming to an end was because he didn’t want to be bored, _not because of–!!_  
  
“...Akechi-kun.”  
  
Goro looked up to the barrel of the gun, completely unaware that his eyes had begun glistening. No… there was no way… there was no way… he couldn’t have…  
  
“I’m sorry.”  
  
Flecks of moisture clung to his eyelashes, and Goro pressed his lids as tightly together as he could manage. This was it… he was going to die a failure, and all because of what?  
  
Some stupid _feelings?_  
  
It wasn’t fair.  
  
It wasn’t fair…  
  
It wasn’t –  
  
A bang reverberated against the concrete walls of the subway trails, before being met with quiet.  
  
…  
  
Goro opened his eyes.  
  
A charcoal handgun and a red mask laid on the floor in front of him, released by the open, red hands above them.  
  
The hands pulled away, and their owner spun around.  
  
“Good bye, Akechi Goro.” Came the low, whispered voice, before heeled boots began to click against the solid floor.  
  
Trembling, Goro remained. Handcuffed, listening as heels faded and his eyes became blurrier, wetness stained his cheeks and a vice seized his breaths once more.  
  
Haha, what a merciful end indeed.

  


* * *


End file.
